Lake Forest douses lights to cut costs

Fans lament end of gas streetlamps

Lake Forest officials have snuffed out hundreds of gas-lit streetlamps after deciding that though quaint, the lanterns are an expensive luxury in a tight budget year.

The cost-cutting move has some residents complaining that they've been left in the dark.

"The only lights literally that you see are coming from people's homes and windows," said Jerry Gundling, who said he misses the glow of four gas lights where he lives on Wildwood Road. "If you want to take a walk, it gets pretty dark."

Residents say the lights are necessary for safety, especially during moonless nights.

But Lake Forest leaders say the gas lanterns emit very little light and that by extinguishing them, the city can save an estimated $125,000 annually as part of $2.5 million in budget cuts.

City workers manually turned off all 438 gas streetlights over the last month. About half of the lamps' expense came from the cost of gas and the rest from the labor to maintain them, officials said.

"They cost us approximately six times what it costs to operate an electric light," said City Manager Robert Kiely Jr. "It's been something the council has looked at and talked about because the lighting of gas lights is very inefficient and very expensive."

The gas streetlights are scattered throughout the city, with the largest concentration--173 lamps--along Green Bay Road.

The lamps, which were on continuously, provided the same amount of light as a 30-watt electric light bulb, Kiely said. Electric streetlights are typically 100 to 150 watts, he said.

But that's a tough sell in the North Shore community, where some residents argue that the cuts could be made somewhere else.

"My mother is annoyed at me. My sister is annoyed at me," said Ald. Tom Swarthout, who voted for the budget cuts and has fielded some of the lamp complaints.

"I tell them we are making decisions based on the funds available and we are prioritizing the needs in the city," Swarthout said. "By no means does it mean we can't turn these lights back on in the future."

Officials have no plans to replace the gas lights with electric, having estimated that it would cost at least $400,000 to retool the gas lights on Green Bay Road alone, Kiely said.

They are reviewing other options, such as allowing residents to "adopt" a gas lamp and pay for its costs.

"We realize the gas lights were a very popular item in town, and we're not going to just knock them down and get rid of them," Kiely said.

Peoples Energy spokeswoman Elizabeth Castro said she isn't sure how many communities still use gas streetlamps. The Chicago-based company provides gas to Lake Forest through its North Shore Gas.

"It's definitely a rarity," Castro said. "They are such a part of our history and they have a certain charm to them."

Before they were converted to gas, the city's original streetlights were installed as kerosene lamps in 1916, mostly on the older, east side of town, according to Arthur H. Miller, co-author of "Lake Forest: Estates, People and Culture."

Miller, who lives on Wildwood Road, said only 183 gas streetlamps were in Lake Forest in 1958. At that time, they were believed to be the only ones in the Midwest.

Later, more gas lamps were installed. But at some point, the city replaced others with larger electric lights in estate neighborhoods, where homes were far apart.

"They left [the gas lights] in the neighborhoods where the houses are smaller and closer together, I'm assuming, because of scale," Miller said.

He said he would like to see the lights turned back on because even if they are less effective, they help drivers and pedestrians find their way through unfamiliar streets.

"They actually are safety factors because they indicate the direction of the streets because they're curvy," Miller said. "They're placed at a bend so you can see what direction you're going."